Pay Now Illinois, a coalition of 97 Illinois-based human and social service agencies and companies, said today that it will consider an appeal of Cook County Circuit Court Judge Rodolfo Garcia’s denial of their request for immediate preliminary injunction and full payment of unpaid contracts dating back to July 1, 2015. While the judge dismissed the coalition’s suit against the State of Illinois, he also urged that their breach of contract suit be expeditiously appealed to a higher court for resolution.
In his ruling, Judge Garcia contended that a trial court was not the right setting for the case.
“We are disappointed with the ruling, but heartened by the Court’s recognition of the irreparable harm that has been caused in Illinois and by the Judge’s comment that our case deserves to be heard at a higher level,” Pay Now Illinois Chair Andrea Durbin said.
“From the beginning this lawsuit has been about good business practices – paying signed contracts in full and on time. The State’s failure to pay – and their belief that there is no way to make them pay – sets an extraordinarily bad precedent that should be of concern to anybody doing business with the state. It calls into question whether any contracts in the state are valid.”
Pay Now Illinois had sought a preliminary injunction for emergency relief that would require the state of Illinois to begin immediate payment on contracts that were more than 60 days in arrears. The motion for injunction was deemed necessary because of the devastating and irreparable harm being caused to plaintiffs who are facing a cascade of damages – laying off staffs, curtailment of essential programs, or entirely shuttering their programs, all of which seriously impedes their ability to serve their clients.
The original lawsuit filed on May 4, 2016 against Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger and the directors of six statewide agencies – one agency has since been added – claimed that the state’s failure to pay invoices on services performed under signed contacts was an unlawful impairment, or interference, with the agencies’ constitutional right to a legal remedy for the non-payment of these contracts. The suit further charged that the Governor and other state officials have acted illegally by failing to make payments on contracts while continuing to enforce them.
“It’s important to remember we are seeking full – not partial – payment on our contracts,” said Durbin who is also CEO of Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY). “For the State of Illinois to be considered a desirable business partner, it has to show that it honors its contracts in full. Right now, that is not the case.”
The State Board of Elections can confirm that approximately 700 voter records were viewed and those 700 individuals will soon be notified by mail as required by law. In addition, approximately 86,000 records are strongly suspected to have been viewed and the Board staff continues to identify those individuals. Anyone within that group will receive written notification within the next thirty days. There appear to be 3,533 records viewed which will not be able to be identified.
* Jason Barclay, Gov. Rauner’s General Counsel on July 6th…
Last week we learned that AFSCME is conducting strike assessments throughout the state. This document confirms that AFSCME is now asking individual members to commit to a strike. And we have also heard that they have already selected a strike date of September 1 – which, depending on the status of the Impasse Case at the Labor Board, could be a violation of the Tolling Agreement AFSCME signed with the State wherein it committed not to strike until the Labor Board determines if an impasse has been reached. An AFSCME strike could result in serious disruptions to its members lives – disruption to pension calculations because of a lengthy strike, loss of wages and health insurance during a lengthy strike, and the possibility of being replaced by replacement workers, potentially permanently.
Members of the largest state employee union have been getting briefed on what would happen in the event of a strike and some are being polled over their willingness to go on strike over the stalled contract negotiations between the union and the state.
Members of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration said the actions show that the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees “is now asking individual members to commit to a strike,” possibly by Sept. 1.
* An op-ed published in the State Journal Register by John Terranova, Deputy Director, Office of Labor Relations on July 16th…
This paper recently reported on the possibility that AFSCME Council 31 employees could go out on strike, perhaps as early as Sept. 1.
Um, yeah. The reporting relied on the Rauner administration’s memo.
That op-ed was sent out to state employees by Terranova on July 19th.
As we near AFSCME’s September 1 strike date, I wanted to update you about a troublesome development.
A September 1st strike looked like a lock by then, according to the administration.
* Gov. Rauner was asked about the September 1st date today…
“That’s, that, we’re just hearing that from, we have many, uh, state employees who are working closely with our administration who like our proposal, who like our contract recommendation and are, and are advising us and there’s been a lot of chatter about strikes and strike dates and strike preparations and raising a strike fund. I don’t know. Nobody, I mean, we, we believe we’re at impasse. Um, and, uh, we’re just going through the process that we all agreed. We agreed with the union how the process would go. We had a toll agreement. We have a legal agreement. And we’re going through that process right now and it’s going to play out in the coming weeks and months.”
[The audio link doesn’t seem to be working at the moment. None of the links on the CMS site are working, actually. So, give it some time.]
…Adding… The link is working now.
…Adding More… A senior administration source with knowledge of the administration’s thinking claims signs are popping up in agencies during the past few weeks in AFSCME colors that say “Get ready.”
“We think that’s preparation for a strike,” the source said.
Anders Lindall with AFSCME said the signs mean the union is “Ready for whatever may come. Right now, we’re ready to set straight the frequent falsehoods of the administration’s misinformation campaign. Looking ahead, we’re ready to act if the administration tries to unilaterally impose its unfair terms.” He also said the signs have been up for close to two months.
The administration source also pointed to how they’d asked the Labor Board to expedite the hearing on the impasse declaration by bypassing the administrative law judge. AFSCME opposed that motion, you’ll recall. The Labor Board sided with AFSCME. As of now, there’s been no decision from the administrative law judge. “The union can’t credibly go on strike if judge hasn’t ruled,” the Rauner source said.
The source also said the union was “Likely continuing to raise money for a strike fund,” but, he admitted “that’s never been confirmed.”
…Adding Still More… From Anders Lindall…
Donald Trump is known for using the phrase “people are saying” to spread misinformation and innuendo without any proof. Now Bruce Rauner, who said he would support Trump for President, is employing the same tactic to mislead state employees and all the people of Illinois about the status of contract negotiations between his administration and our union. There never was any “Sept. 1 strike date,” and AFSCME has corrected the record time and again.
Public service workers in state government want to do their jobs and serve their communities, not be forced out on strike by Governor Rauner—but that’s exactly what he’s trying to do. Rauner’s administration walked away from negotiations, has refused to bargain since January, and is seeking to unilaterally impose terms on state employees instead of compromising with them.
State workers deserve a governor who is honest, who understands the important public services they provide, and who treats them with respect. Just because Bruce Rauner supports Donald Trump politically is no excuse for the governor to copy Trump’s ludicrous behavior.
The Governor says redistricting should be the number one priority of lawmakers when they return to Springfield after the election in November. […]
Rauner says he wants redistricting reform passed before he can agree to a comprehensive budget deal that will include a tax hike.
Rauner did say the second priority should be pension reform, after the Teachers Retirement System voted to lower their expected investment returns, meaning the state will be on the hook for hundreds of millions more when it comes time to make the pension payment.
* From the governor’s Tuesday appearance on Channel 7…
We’ve got to have financial discipline and we need reforms to grow our economy. That’s the number one priority.
…Adding… Today, Gov. Rauner said a budget deal, along with property tax reforms, would be worked out after the election and that redistricting reform and term limits should be included in the deal.
Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday issued an ominous report about Illinois’ finances, warning that the lack of a full year budget will more than double the state’s deficit and could lead to further credit downgrades. […]
According to the report, the partial budget will likely widen the state’s operating fund deficit with a backlog of bills likely to reach $14 billion or more — a new high — this year “absent actions by the government to align revenue and spending.”
The report says current spending authorizations, appropriations, court orders and consent decrees in the fiscal year which began on July 1 will drive expenditures up by an estimated 12 percent compared with the revenue coming in.
The report warns that the state might “resort to actions that cast doubt on an otherwise strong legal framework prioritizing debt payment, such as borrowing from funds set aside for debt service.”
Moody’s also warns that a reliance on payment deferrals to offset the budget imbalance will be hard to end, calling the payment backlog “the by-product of a weak governance structure that includes permissive laws and legal interpretations.”
Mayor Rahm Emanuel today was joined by award-winning producer Dick Wolf, NBCUniversal executives, members of the film industry and unions in announcing that the City of Chicago has seen record TV filming production in 2016—a two-fold increase in TV shows filming here over last year. This year’s filming boost is due in large part to TV series selecting the city as the main stage for filming—with an unprecedented eight full-time major TV series filming across the city’s neighborhoods this year, and another two major series’ filming locally part time.
Additionally, while the city has recorded more than $1.3 billion in economic activity from film and commercial production since 2011, this year’s filming is expected to outpace economic benefits seen in previous years, contributing to local jobs and the livelihood of Chicago’s neighborhoods.
When the hit TV show “Empire” filmed scenes in Chicago last year, it lured big-name stars like Chris Rock to the Cook County juvenile detention center.
But relatives of two juveniles were far from star-struck. And now they’ve sued Twentieth Century Fox Television Inc., Cook County and others over the lockdown they say occurred when “enormous” film crews descended on the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center at Roosevelt and Ogden in the summer of 2015.
“The purpose of these lockdowns was to provide Fox with a realistic prison facility to use as the primary set of two highly profitable ‘Empire’ episodes,” their lawyers wrote in a 37-page federal complaint filed Wednesday. “The children at JTDC, meanwhile, were placed under restrictions more severe than those governing many adult jails.” […]
Meanwhile, the juveniles housed at the facility were relegated to their cell and “pod” areas and were required to sit in one place, according to the complaint. For one teen, “even to stand up without first obtaining permission was treated as a major rule violation.”
“There they were told to sit, for days on end,” lawyers wrote. “Their schooling continued in name only, visits from their families were interrupted, cut back, or effectively eliminated, sick-call requests were ignored, and programs that are intended to help them overcome the problems that landed them at the JTDC in the first place were cancelled or interrupted.”
This has been showing up in parades in the LaSalle County Area. Not sure the guy towing it understands political messaging. Might be fun for a caption contest.
If you run for a position on your local school board, Illinois’ campaign finance laws require that you disclose contributions and expenditures. You buy pizza with campaign funds for volunteers? You have to disclose it. You accept free signs from a friend who owns a printing shop? You have to disclose it. You spend $23.56 on gasoline to drive around collecting signatures? You have to disclose it.
That hasn’t been the case with one of the state’s most influential yet obscure groups. The People’s Map, a political organization formed to fight against independently drawn legislative maps, has not disclosed any contributions or expenditures on the forms it filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Little is known about the group — like who finances it, who pays the attorney and court fees, or how the group spends its resources. […]
The People’s Map has filed four quarterly reports, all listing zero contributions and zero expenditures.
Meanwhile, six union groups reported on their own filings that they contributed $2,000 each to The People’s Map effort. The groups are Illinois AFL-CIO COPE, Laborers’ Political Action and Education League, Illinois Pipe Trades PEF, Illinois State Conference of IBEW (the group later canceled its payment), SEIU Local 73 and the Illinois Education Association, the union representing most teachers in the state.
Backers of the remap amendment, Support Independent Maps, asked the State Board of Elections to review The People’s Map’s disclosure paperwork. The board agreed and gave The People’s Map until Aug. 19 to file amended reports. At this writing, nothing has been filed.
The editorial was based on an earlier AP story and a press release from the remap reformers demanding an investigation.
* The group’s attorney Mike Kasper sent a response dated August 15th that was recently posted on the Board of Elections’ website…
And, as I’ve told you before, Kasper doesn’t usually bill a client for fees and/or expenses until after the case is completed. If there’s no invoice, there’s nothing to pay, which means there’s no reason to cash any checks or no debts to report. The guy probably wrote that statute, so he knows how to use it to his clients’ advantage.
Five groups, led by the ACLU, are asking a federal judge today to preserve Election Day registration in local polling places in advance of the November presidential election. U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan is presiding over the case.
The argument, from the ACLU: “The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Better Government Association, the League of Women Voters of Illinois and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform in Harlan v. Scholtz, an effort by a political candidate to block implementation of the current EDR system approved by the legislature, piloted during the 2014 general election, and used in the March 2016 primary election. “This election has generated interest and fervor across the nation,” said Colleen K. Connell, Executive Director of the ACLU of Illinois. ‘Eliminating Election Day registration in local precincts so close to an election could leave thousands of people unable to vote.’”
Unmentioned above is that the lawsuit was filed by an arm of the Bruce Rauner-allied Illinois Policy Institute. The group wants the federal court to haltall precinct-level election day voter registration this year because smaller counties are only required to provide a central location for election day registration, while larger counties are required to provide in-precinct election day registration. To them, that’s not fair.
If the Court determines that preliminary injunctive relief is required, it should extend Election Day registration at polling places in low-population counties, rather than deprive voters in high-population counties of that opportunity. Such a remedy would support, rather than undermine, the public interest in allowing qualified voters to vote, would appropriately respect legislative intent, and would more directly remedy the plaintiffs’ alleged injuries. […]
(T)he requested injunction will overturn voters’ reasonable expectations. In preparation for November’s election, voter education and get-out-the-vote organizations have undertaken massive voter education campaigns, getting the message out to thousands of voters that they can vote on Election Day even if they have not registered or their registration is out of date. Those voters have every right to rely on a state statute guaranteeing their right to vote at their local polling place on Election Day. Turning those voters away at the polls would betray those expectations. Voters in high-population counties – including both Republican and Democratic leaning counties – would be confused at precinct polling places and face long lines at EDR sites, assuming that they make it to an EDR site at all. Meanwhile, short- staffed election personnel would have to spend significant additional resources in assisting voters at both types of locations, all thanks to plaintiffs’ decision to file suit more than a year after the statute’s effective date and less than three months before the election.
Moreover, the burden of an injunction limiting EDR is likely to fall disproportionately on identifiable sub-groups. For example, the research surveyed by plaintiffs’ expert suggests that those most likely to be disenfranchised by such an injunction include “the young, the residentially mobile, and those with moderate level of income and education.” Additionally, although plaintiffs do not mention it, the Fourth Circuit recently found that the elimination of same-day registration unlawfully discriminated against African Americans. The Court noted that “African American voters disproportionately used same-day registration when it was available,” and that African Americans “are more likely to move between counties and thus are more likely to need to re-register.” The possibility of a disproportionate racial impact is another reason the public interest weighs heavily against the proposed injunction.
Finally, the plaintiffs incorrectly assert that “a preliminary injunction would simply preserve the status quo ante.” The current EDR system went into effect in June 2015 and was in place for the March 2016 primary election. Plaintiffs’ proposed remedy would disrupt the status quo. […]
Shutting down EDR at precinct polling places in high-population counties will deny many qualified voters the right to vote, in derogation of the public interest. The plaintiffs have the burden of proving that (1) allowing those citizens to vote will cause the plaintiffs irreparable harm; and (2) the alleged harm to plaintiffs outweighs the harm to those citizens. They have made no such showing. […]
In this case, an injunction requiring low-population counties to provide EDR at all polling places would be far more respectful of state legislative policy judgments than an injunction prohibiting high-population counties from doing so. The plaintiffs would have this Court order a direct violation of state statute: Counties that are required by Illinois law to provide EDR at polling places may not do so. By contrast, an injunction extending EDR to all counties would be wholly within the bounds of existing state law, which already allows the low-population counties to offer EDR at polling places. The choice is between ordering some counties to do something that state law prohibits, or ordering other counties to do something that state law allows.
We’ve seen lots of stories this week about a mythical Russian government hack on the state board of elections, and almost nothing this month about a very real lawsuit that could have a serious impact on election day.
Odd.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The attorney general also filed a brief yesterday. Click here to read it.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Another amicus brief was separately filed by a coalition that includes Asian-Americans Advancing Justice, Common Cause, Change Illinois, Illinois PIRG and ICIRR. Click here to read it.
The Independent Maps coalition on Wednesday filed a petition asking the Illinois Supreme Court to reconsider its recent ruling denying voters the ability to vote this November on the proposed constitutional amendment to require a transparent, impartial and fair process of drawing legislative maps.
By a 4 to 3 party line division, the Supreme Court ruled that the Independent Map Amendment is not in line with the Illinois Constitution’s requirement for amendments proposed by voters. Under the Supreme Court’s rules, Independent Maps has the right to point out argument the majority of the Court overlooked or misapprehended and to ask it to reconsider its ruling and its reasoning. Four votes are required to grant rehearing.
“We believe the four justices in the majority were wrong and inconsistent in their reasoning and would reach a different conclusion if they consider, as they have in all other similar cases, the legislative debates from the 1969-70 constitutional convention,” said Dennis FitzSimons, Chair of Independent Maps. “More than 563,000 Illinois voters signed Independent Map Amendment petitions, and we owe it to them and thousands of volunteers across the state to make every possible effort to convince the Court that the amendment deserves to be placed before voters in November.”
The petition includes the following arguments in favor of a rehearing:
Ø The four justices in the majority said that their decision was compelled by the “plain language” of the Illinois Constitution, which states that voters can propose a constitutional amendment only if the amendment is “limited to structural and procedural subjects contained in” the article dealing with the legislature. However, the majority completely ignored Independent Maps’ “plain language” argument explaining why the amendment meets that requirement. Because each provision in the proposed amendment is limited to redistricting and because redistricting is a “structural and procedural subject,” there should be no doubt that the amendment is properly limited to a “structural and procedural subject.”
Ø Even if the majority’s strained construction of “structural and procedural” is one reasonable way to look at that section, the interpretation by Independent Maps is reasonable, too. That means that the constitutional provision is at least ambiguous and the court must look to the legislative history to decide which interpretation the framers intended. The four justices in the majority ignored the legislative history, which clearly indicates that redistricting is one of the “critical” areas the framers had in mind when they created the provision allowing voters to propose amendments to the constitution. “They ignored the debates during the constitutional convention, which show that the ‘limited to’ language was designed to prevent initiatives from being used as a subterfuge to address controversial subjects like taxes, abortion and the death penalty,” FitzSimons said. “Our amendment does exactly what the framers intended to allow citizens to do – propose meaningful redistricting reform. The majority’s refusal even to consider the legislative history is unprecedented in cases like this.”
Ø At a minimum, the Supreme Court should reconsider its ruling that a citizen-initiated amendment cannot include the Auditor General as a participant in the redistricting process, and it should reconsider its decision to postpone for another day any discussion of the other issues plaintiffs prevailed on in the trial court. Because the majority opinion is limited to a single issue, it fails to provide the citizens of Illinois with any guidance about whether a redistricting initiative is even permissible, let alone guidance about what the permissible contours of such an initiative would be.
“The majority opinion is inconsistent,” FitzSimons said. “At one point, it says that the Auditor General can’t be involved because that office is not now part of the legislative article of the constitution, but at another point, it suggests a redistricting initiative could use a non-legislative actor to help select a redistricting commission. Which is it? Without clear guidance, no one will be willing to invest the time, effort and money necessary to put a genuine redistricting reform initiative on the ballot.”
The link accompanying the press release for the full petition for reconsideration is here, but it’s not working as I write this.
In the high court’s ruling last week, it rejected the Independent Maps plan because it extended new duties to the state’s auditor general, going beyond the scope of the one legislative article that can be amended by the citizen initiative process. But the justices did not address other issues that Cook County Judge Diane Larsen also had found unconstitutional, including an expanded role for the high court and changes to the attorney general duties.
Currently, the state Supreme Court plays a role in the tie-breaking process, when they select the names of one Republican and one Democrat who will be chosen at random to end stalemates on the current eight-member redistricting commission, made up equally of House and Senate Republican and Democratic representatives.
Quinn’s argument is that because the state Supreme Court already has a role in redistricting under the legislative article, expanding the court’s role to select a new remap commission would fall under the court’s ruling and be constitutional. But it’s also questionable whether the justices would find the additional duties imposed on them to be constitutional.
Quinn’s proposal also could suffer from its simplicity. The proposal is silent on what would happen if the commission couldn’t reach a seven-member agreement on a new map.
All good points.
* Scott Szala, “an adjunct professor who teaches a course on the state constitution at the University of Illinois law school,” talked to Dan Petrella about the proposal…
He said one potential pitfall of Quinn’s idea is that having the Supreme Court appoint the commission’s members and rule on any legal challenges to the map they draw could create conflicts of interest.
There’s also the question of whether assigning a new task to the court would pass constitutional muster, Szala said.
There are other problems, which I mentioned to subscribers this morning.
Democratic state Rep. John Bradley of Marion and Republican Dave Severin of Benton will fight their campaign for Illinois House alone.
Libertarian candidate Scott Schluter of Marion was removed from the race, as was Tea Party candidate Robert Harner of Pittsburg, according to state campaign records. […]
The Illinois State Board of Elections decided in both cases that the candidates didn’t have enough petition signatures to get on the November ballot. […]
And independent Dan Silver of Alto Pass was removed in his bid to run for Illinois House against Republican Rep. Terri Bryant of Murphysboro and Democratic challenger Marsha Griffin of Jonesboro.
A key ratings agency said the decision by the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System to lower its expected rate of return was “a positive,” even though it means the cash-strapped state will have to find hundreds of millions of dollars more to pay into the pension program for teachers who live outside of Chicago.
The decision by the system’s board to alter the rate of return on investments from 7.5 percent to 7 percent was made despite opposition from Gov. Bruce Rauner, who characterized it as a rushed decision that puts taxpayers on the hook. It was an odd position for the Republican governor, who has long criticized state and city government for kicking the can down the road on financial issues.
But Moody’s Investors Service said the change was “a positive” despite increasing financial pressure on the state in the near term, saying the move would “lower exposure to volatile investment performance.” Moody’s estimated that if the new, lower rate had been in effect for the budget year that began July 1, the state’s required employer contribution would have been $4.3 billion, roughly $421 million more than if the assumed rate of return stayed at 7.5 percent.
* But it’s not all good news. From Moody’s Investors Service’s David Jacobson…
However, even under the lower 7% discount rate, Moody’s estimates Illinois’ contributions would remain roughly $1.5 billion below our “tread water” indicator. Our “tread water” indicator equals the sum of employer service cost (called the “normal cost” for actuarial funding) plus interest on the unfunded liability, using reported assumptions. In the most recent TRS valuation report, actuaries projected that reported unfunded liabilities will continue growing until 2030 under the statutory funding formula.
Oy.
…Adding… Related…
* Amend the state constitution to cut public pensions?: Higher taxes may be needed along with other changes, Baise said. But what’s really needed is to change a clause in the state constitution that the Illinois Supreme Court repeatedly has said fully protects pension benefits some say the state no longer can afford. “In what world do we live in where a $100 billion-plus pension obligation can be explained away by saying ‘It’s in the constitution’?” Baise asked. “A constitutional provision that was drafted in 1970 cannot and must not bankrupt this great state.” In a later interview, Baise conceded that the courts might balk at such an amendment. And getting it by voters would be no snap. But change nonetheless is needed, he said. “Democrats and Republicans have both got to say, ‘We need to get this problem under control,’ ” he said. “Nothing is so sacrosanct it can’t change.”
* From a Peoria Journal Star editorial on remap reform…
Perhaps Quinn has a magic incantation to use on the Supreme Court, starting with using “simple, clean, and pristine” language impossible to poke constitutional holes through even by the most motivated. We just have three questions regarding the referendum Quinn hopes to get on the ballot in 2018, in time for the 2021 map:
Will Madigan still be speaker of the Illinois House? Will Madigan still be chairman of Illinois’ Democratic Party? Will the Supreme Court still have a Democratic majority?
If the answer is “yes” to all three, well, good luck to Quinn, but he’ll forgive us for not holding our breath on any map “reform” worthy of the word.
What that editorial board wants is not remap reform, but a Republican state. Talk about a “magic incantation.” Sheesh.
I mean, if the maps are drawn fairly and without political considerations, who’s to say that Madigan would definitely lose control of the House? This is, after all, a Democratic-leaning state, despite Gov. Rauner’s 2014 win. How are you gonna “fairly” draw lots of Republican districts in Chicago and the south suburbs? And, remember, Madigan kept the gavel eight out of ten years of a Republican-drawn map in the 1990s. So, if he can win under a relatively unfair, partisan map, how is he supposed to be guaranteed to lose under a fair, non-partisan map?
And how are fair legislative district maps gonna end Madigan’s chairmanship of the Democratic Party of Illinois or change the balance on the Illinois Supreme Court?
If this is the bar they’re setting, they should also thunder against the current fair map proposal.
* From my syndicated newspaper column in October of 1998…
Drivers license corruption didn’t start under George Ryan, of course. My Uncle Mike tells a great story about when he first moved to Illinois from Indiana almost 30 years ago after marrying my Aunt Jean.
Mike grew up in rural Hoosier Land hearing lots of stories about how terribly corrupt Illinois was.
His worst fears were confirmed when he went to take his driving test at the local license bureau. “Leave a five dollar bill on the seat,” someone whispered to him.
Uncle Mike was finally facing the evil he had heard so much about. And being a reasonably honest individual unaccustomed to the ways of a barbarous land, and not having a lot of extra cash on him, he decided he would refuse to play the game.
Well, Uncle Mike flunked the test, of course. But the next time he took the exam he left some cash on the seat before he got out of the car. Lo and behold, he passed with flying colors.
Mike currently lives a blissful existence back across the state line.
My Uncle Mike died last night, his daughter and his wife were both at his side.
He was such a great guy. Very funny, very gentle, very sweet.
* He was one of those people who had a joke for every occasion. I asked him once if he had volunteered for the Army. “Volunteered? I still have splinters under my fingernails from when they dragged me off!”
Heh.
When he was a kid, his mom gave him a diary. He read it to me once, speaking in the voice of a child. It went something like, “Today, I played cowboy.” Turn the page. “Today, I played cowboy.” Turn the page. “Today, I played cowboy.” Turn the page, “Today, I played fireman.”
You had to be there.
* Mike learned to fly an airplane when I was young and I flew with him several times and even went through the study guides with him while he worked to get a commercial license. He taught me about clouds, aerodynamics, you name it. It was so easy to learn things from him because he was such a patient, kind man. We were sitting at his kitchen bar table studying together one night and he started telling jokes and I literally fell off my chair laughing. I don’t remember a single one of those jokes, but I’ll never forget that long fall off that high bar stool. No blood, no foul. I got up laughing.
He bought a motorcycle back in the day and would take me for rides. We were pulled over by the cops near my grandma’s house in Ashkum once because I wasn’t wearing sunglasses. He bought me a pair and later that day a bug or something hit my glasses and they cracked. Thank goodness for the cop. I don’t think I ever did tell my mom that story.
* Mike wasn’t somebody who worried too much about his career. He tried numerous occupations, never settling on one. He never really had much money and he never seemed to care all that much. He had a house, a great wife and lived in the town where he was born and raised, always surrounded by good friends and a strong family. He did, indeed, live in bliss.
Remington, Indiana was kind of a paradise to me when I was a kid. I lived on a farm in Iroquois County at the time, so our closest neighbor kids were over a mile away. Mike’s nieces and nephews lived near his house and they and their pals were all around my age, so we became fast friends. I don’t remember any of them ever once causing any trouble. They were such good kids, but so much fun to hang out with, always laughing and smiling. And then I’d go back to Mike and Jean’s house and listen to show tunes. My Aunt Jean, my mom’s sister, was a big fan of show tunes. I think I memorized the entire “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” album at one point. It was a home away from home. An oasis of calm and constant mirth.
* I was nine when my cousin Tracy was born. She was the first girl on my mom’s side of the family, so she was always special. Tracy got her sense of humor and much of her sweetness from her dad and she shared a story yesterday about her childhood…
Remembering riding my pony Brownie for the first time. I was 4. I had lifesavers in my jean pocket. I had dad as my coach. Around the maple tree I went one way. Then around the other way. I was clearly a prodigy at horseback riding. It was going great. I don’t know what got into Brownie but he took off with me fast. I was in the alley by Dotty Bahler’s house when dad told me to jump. I just did that. I trusted my dad to know the right course of action. I lost my lifesavers, and that was crushing, but I landed in soft grass with no injuries. My pony was found by the laundromat. I have never trusted another man more than this man. Generally he has given me good ideas for a long time.
* My mom called from Mike’s hospital room a couple of days ago and put me on speaker so I could talk to him. She warned me that he probably wouldn’t respond. But he perked up when he heard my voice and we managed a conversation. I told him I loved him. It was the last thing I said to him before he passed.
Today, Mom sent me a photo of a framed copy of my 1998 column that was hanging on Uncle Mike’s bedroom wall. That’s when I started writing this post. And that’s when I also decided that I’m going to take the rest of the day off.
* Here’s a photo taken by my brother Devin of Uncle Mike and Aunt Jean…
* Greg Baise of the Illinois Manufacturers Association spoke to the City Club today. Here’s an excerpt of his prepared remarks…
Now, people talk about how the middle class is in trouble. And, it is. They aren’t lying. But those who talk loudest about protecting the middle class are actually doing the most to push it out of existence. For decades, MANUFACTURERS have been the best producers of middle–‐class jobs in the nation. People from all walks of life looked to manufacturing for jobs that paid middle–‐class wages, offered health insurance and built a pension. People who worked for manufacturers were the heart of the middle class. They saved for down payments to buy homes. They were able to raise a family. You didn’t need an advanced degree to make a good living. You needed a good work ethic and a sense of pride in what you produced.
Entrepreneurs who were willing to risk it all created that opportunity for growth, and the responsibility was on its citizens to create their own destiny. Government’s role was to provide a safety net, a helping hand, and monitor and correct the bad actors–‐–‐but not get in the way of those who were doing it right.
For too many, those days are long gone.
What I’m describing now is how many of my members feel and man do they feel it. And please keep in mind, that about 85 percent of my members are SMALL businesses, many second and third generation.
They feel that slowly, but insidiously, government is being led by politicians who think they’re the experts on how to run business. They see the government dictating wages and opportunity, mandating nearly every aspect of running a business, and too often views employers as an eternal piggy bank to solve every woe in society or to fund every novel idea hatched by a think–‐tank.
Just remember as you leave, in the last seven years….
Wisconsin created 44,100 manufacturing jobs
Ohio created 75,900 manufacturing jobs
Indiana created 83,700 manufacturing jobs and
Michigan created 171,300 manufacturing jobs.
Illinois created 4,600 jobs. Even Idaho created 9,100 manufacturing jobs. A state better known for its potato farms.
It’s abysmal. It’s pathetic.
It’s time for a change in philosophy and direction by our policy makers.
It’s time to get mad as hell and not take it anymore.
Whether you agree with him on everything or not, he’s an old Statehouse hand and knows whereof he speaks, so go read the whole thing.
* Whatever you think of the rest of the column, Jim Dey’s conclusion is spot on…
“Thumbs down to the Illinois Supreme Court, which … disenfranchised the state’s voters to the benefit of a powerful few,” the Quad-City Times stated [about the redistricting lawsuit].
But, really, who cares? Certainly not the judges who did Madigan’s dirty work. They’re not accountable?
Certainly not Madigan and the legislators he spared from being put to a real electoral test. They’re not accountable either. That’s the whole point behind gerrymandering.
They may not appreciate the accusations coming their ways. But adverse public reaction was baked into the political cake, and it’ll blow over. When it does, they’ll still be in charge, for now and for as far as the eye can see.
Same with the $400,000 copper doors. Same with, well, pretty much everything.
You do what you want and then win the campaigns in the trenches.
But, again, it would be a bit more honest if columnists and editorial writers even occasionally pointed out that Rauner actually managed to win a whole lot of districts that are represented by Democratic legislators. He beat Pat Quinn in Rep. Dan Beiser’s district 55-38, for instance. That’s probably why the Democrats are playing the Ken Dunkin card in August.
* It appears this Democratic mailer on behalf of Rep. Dan Beiser (D-Alton) is referencing the support given by Dan Proft’s Illinois Opportunity Project to Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) in the spring primary…
Man, oh man. And it’s not even Labor Day.
Whew.
Also, sorry for the picture quality issue, but I figured you’d like to see this anyway.
* Meanwhile, the anti-Dunkin t-shirts from the spring primary are being repurposed in at least one southern Illinois House race…
* Gov. Bruce Rauner made the rounds of Chicago TV stations early this morning. A WGN anchor asked him: “But the world of business is a dictatorship. You’re in government now. Looking back on your year and a half, is there a political tactic you would have changed to accomplish more of your agenda?”
* Over on Channel 7, the governor was pressed hard by Judy Hsu: “Your job is to govern and we need a budget. What realistically can be done going forward to find a compromise?” The governor said that the legislative leaders have agreed to work on a compromise and pass a balanced budget with reforms after the general election.
Hsu also talked about the new “heat map” which shows where the social services cuts have happened. “Do you have a real grasp of what’s facing the families?” she asked. His response…
Absolutely. And the tragedy is, we have out of balance, um, budgets that are broken and not funding our services properly for decades. This is a problem, this hasn’t happened in the past year, this has been created for many, many years. We always try to spend much more than we really bring in. That makes us the state that people leave the most from. People leave Illinois more than any other state. And our jobs, our employers leave our state. We’ve got to have financial discipline and we need reforms to grow our economy. That’s the number one priority.
The FBI says that computer hackers accessed, and in one case stole, voter registration files in two states, potentially compromising personal information and putting crucial election data at risk just three months before voters head to the polls.
And if that weren’t unsettling enough, the techniques that the hackers used were neither sophisticated nor particularly hard to employ, proving that it’s not just high-end hackers from foreign governments, like the ones believed to be targeting U.S. political organizations, that elections officials need to worry about in the runup to November. […]
The FBI’s analysis of the hacks, contained in a security alert first reported by Yahoo News, shows that Arizona’s elections website was penetrated in June using a common vulnerability that’s well known to security experts. Then, in July, Illinois’ voter files were accessed apparently using stolen login credentials, which could have been obtained by spear phishing a state employee. […]
On the scale of hacker sophistication, these attacks rank on the low-end, relative child’s play for the kinds of skilled operators that U.S. officials suspect may have stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee and Democrat and Republican lawmakers in an attempt to sow chaos in the presidential elections.
The problem is the security was far, far too lax. It’s been beefed up now in Illinois, but, man, this was no way to run a railroad.
* Considering the mayor’s total opposition, I’ll believe this when I see this…
The Illinois Senate sponsor of the Chicago elected school board bill says the legislation will likely undergo some changes in the coming weeks.
“We have identified some areas of improvement for the bill,” state Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) said in remarks after Monday’s City Club of Chicago talk about creating an elected school board in the city. […]
At issue is legislation that would create a 20-member elected school board in Chicago, starting in 2018. Under the bill, the state legislature would divide the city into 20 districts for the purpose of electing school board members. The school board’s chair would run citywide.
Raoul said the number of proposed school board members may be reduced in the Senate version of the bill.
“The proposal with a 20-member board may be too large,” Raoul said, adding that the legislation may also be tweaked to allow for runoff elections.
Whatever the case, Raoul is right about some of his changes, particularly the runoff aspect. Candidates should receive over half the votes, particularly with all the big money floating around out there these days and the very real potential for tons of candidates in the first couple of elections.
* I sure hope the prosecutors know what they’re doing on this one…
A 31-year-old Elgin man accused of making a death threat to Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner in May has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and was sentenced to two years of probation and six months wearing an alcohol-monitoring device.
Jesse Kuzma, of the 1100 block of West Highland Avenue, pleaded guilty Friday to attempt to threaten a public official, a misdemeanor, according to Kane County court records.
In addition to the probation and 180 days wearing the alcohol device, Kuzma was ordered to pay $1,840 in fines and fees.
Kane County Judge James Hallock accepted the plea, in which prosecutors reduced the original charge of felony threatening a public official, which had a punishment range of probation to up to five years in prison, records show.
Kane County prosecutors allege Kuzma called the Governor’s Office of Constituent Affairs around 11 p.m. May 7 and left a message stating, “If I ever see you, consider this your death threat.” Illinois State Police investigated the call and arrested Kuzma a few days later.
The political environment in this state is so toxic and so heavily ginned up by all sides, I’m just thankful that we haven’t seen more of this stuff.
* Gov. Rauner was asked early this morning on NBC 5 about his vetoes of legislation to raise the pay of workers who care for people with developmental disabilities and a bill to expand child care assistance eligibility.
“I understand your position,” said Zoraida Sambolin about the governor’s oft stated desire to keep spending in line, “But at the end of the day when you go to bed at night, is it difficult for you to sleep knowing that you have to make these tough decisions?”
At issue is legislation pushed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees that would raise the minimum wage for so-called direct support personnel to $15 an hour. Those workers help the developmentally disabled with daily tasks ranging from cooking and cleaning to taking medication.
Providers say their average hourly wage is about $9.35, which they said has led to a severe staffing shortage that’s forced some group homes to close and leave many families without the help they need. Two days earlier, Rauner himself acknowledged the “documented critical and growing shortage of direct support professionals throughout the United States” in a proclamation declaring that a week in September would honor support workers.
Art Dykstra, CEO of Trinity Services, a nonprofit that provides care for people with disabilities, said the state’s “service system is crumbling.
“We are getting to the point where we will have to ask families to consider taking their loved ones home on weekends because we can’t adequately staff the houses,” he said in a statement. [Emphasis added.]
The proclamation the governor signed last week is here.
* Part of this may wind up in a TV ad, but the online spot is way too long for television right now…
It was only a matter of time. Democrat Susana Mendoza’s campaign is out with its first confrontational spot against Comptroller Leslie Munger following Munger’s on-camera math mess at the Illinois State Fair.
It’s digital-only now but is likely to be slotted as a TV spot closer to the November election.
In the aftermath of Thursday’s Illinois Supreme Court ruling against the Independent Map redistricting plan, former Governor Pat Quinn will offer a plan Tuesday which would be “fair and constitutional”.
“Voters deserve the chance to be heard on remap reform. Half a million voters signed petitions urging the question be put on the ballot but the language was fatally flawed,” Quinn said. “It’s back to the drawing board.”
Twice since 2014, courts have rejected proposals to reform Illinois’ partisan and archaic reapportionment process due to poorly-worded amendments.
“Unlike Independent Map’s plan, our language is simple, clean, and pristine,” Quinn said. As the only person in Illinois history to successfully amend the Constitution by referendum, Quinn will propose a redistricting referendum amendment which he is confident will pass constitutional muster.
In 1980, Quinn’s Cutback Amendment to cut the size of the Illinois Legislature by a third was approved by the Supreme Court, the only time such a reform has been accomplished using the power of referendum in Illinois history.
“Having won before the Supreme Court on the interpretation of Article IV, Section 3, I know the Justices’ legal concerns,” Quinn said.
Quinn plans to reach out to the Independent Map organizers to offer a new and improved version. The voters would be able to vote in a 2018 referendum on a redistricting reform amendment. If adopted by the voters, the plan would be in effect for the 2021 redistricting.
WHEN: Tuesday, August 30, 2016, 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: James R. Thompson Center
15th Floor - Blue Room
* Part of the reason for the two-time failure of the Independent Maps plan was its overly complicated, Rube Goldberg processes for achieving its end result. It was just too easy to nitpick those plans to death.
If Quinn is truly pushing language that is “simple, clean, and pristine,” it might have a better shot. By simply dictating the desired outcome, rather than laying out the actual process in excruciating detail, it would avoid numerous Supreme Court pitfalls.
I get why the remap reformers tried it the other way. They simply don’t trust the General Assembly to come up with their desired outcome. But their way has failed twice in a row. It’s time for a different approach.
* On the other hand, Quinn signed the last remap into law, so he’s not exactly trustworthy on this particular stage. Still, it’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with.
*** UPDATE *** From the Illinois Republican Party…
“Pat Quinn is the very reason Illinois doesn’t already have fair maps. In 2011, Quinn signed into law the gerrymandered district lines we have today. Instead of standing up for reform when he was in charge of the state, Quinn worked with Mike Madigan to rig the political system in their favor. We don’t need Pat Quinn to fix Pat Quinn’s map.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
In 2011, Governor Pat Quinn signed into law today’s gerrymandered district maps.
Instead of standing up to Mike Madigan and demanding redistricting reform when he had the chance, Quinn offered no resistance and worked with Madigan to rig the system.
In fact, members of Quinn’s own party blamed him in 2010 for killing a redistricting reform proposal that was likely to pass in the legislature.
* From Lauren Dickinson at The Pew Charitable Trusts…
Hi, Rich-
Today, The Pew Charitable Trusts released new research on trends in federal grants to states. Among the key findings, the analyses (here and here) show:
· The share of states’ revenue from federal dollars rose only slightly from 2013-14, even with a jump in federal health grants from the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
· Federal grants as a percentage of state revenue remain above historical averages, providing nearly $1 out of every $3 in state revenue in 2014.
· States’ reliance on federal grants varies widely: At nearly 41 percent, Mississippi had the largest share of revenue from federal grants, while North Dakota had the smallest at 17 percent.
Pew experts are available to discuss this research. Also, state-specific data are available on the percentage of state revenue from federal funds in state fiscal year 2014.
Please contact me if you would like state-specific data, to schedule an interview, or if you have any questions.
Warmly,
Lauren
* So I asked for details on Illinois…
Hi, Rich—
For Illinois, 26.8% of state revenue came from federal funds in state fiscal year 2014.
John Bills, the central figure in a massive corruption scheme at City Hall, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for taking up to $2 million in bribes and gifts in return for steering tens of millions of dollars in red light camera contracts to an Arizona company.
The sentence came moments after Bills choked up in a packed federal courtroom and apologized for his actions and the shame it brought to his family.
Bills, 55, who rose through City Hall as part of the political patronage army of longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan, faced up to 30 years in prison for personally profiting in exchange for helping grow the city’s $600 million red-light camera program into the largest in the nation.
Prosecutors do not allege improper behavior by Madigan. But his involvement in Bills’ scheming is a case study in how entrenched political gatekeepers run the show in Illinois.
Bills was a top-performing precinct captain for Madigan’s ward operation for decades. And he began his career in Chicago’s Bureau of Electricity, “dubbed ‘Madigan Electric’ due to the number of 13th Ward loyalists employed there,” according to the Tribune.
Not only did Bills help Redflex buy its way into the city’s red-light-camera business, but he also worked to expand Redflex’s presence in Chicago to include speed cameras and stop-sign enforcement.
Federal prosecutors’ evidence showed Bills met with Madigan to discuss speed cameras.
In April 2010, O’Malley sent an email highlighting Bills’ efforts: “JB has talked to Speaker of the house Matigan [sic] about Speed. Time for you to have private meeting & presentation!!!”
Less than a year later, Madigan sponsored state legislation allowing speed cameras in Chicago. Former Gov. Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 965 into law Feb. 6, 2012.
Republican candidate for Illinois State Senate District 23 Seth Lewis’ Democratic opponent Sen. Tom Fullerton (D-Marion) was recently called out for his tax policies and inability to say no to House Speaker Mike Madigan.
OK, first of all it’s “Cullerton,” not “Fullerton.” My message app sometimes auto-corrects Cullerton to Fullerton, so maybe that’s what happened here because it’s spelled correctly elsewhere in the story.
But “D-Marion”? Um, Sen. Cullerton lives in Villa Park, which is 327 miles and worlds apart from Marion. Anyone who knows even a little about Illinois politics would’ve caught that error.
This is what can happen when your Illinois political reporter files a ton of slapped together stories from upstate New York.
One of the men charged with killing the cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade was “on his daily break from an electronic monitoring bracelet” at the time of the murder, Chicago police said Sunday.
An exasperated Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson said at a news conference that Derren Sorrells’ ankle monitor wasn’t active when 32-year-old Nykea Aldridge was shot and killed in front of a school on Friday. Sorrells and his brother, Darwin Sorrells Jr., were charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder on Sunday.
“When Nykea Aldridge registered her child at school on Friday afternoon she wasn’t aware that shed be the subject of national headlines just hours later,” Johnson said.
Both brothers were known gang members and repeat offenders, Johnson said. Darwin had been out on parole since February and was a “career gun offender,” Johnson said. Derren had six prior felony arrests. Derren’s ankle monitor was inactive from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., ostensibly so he could look for work, Chicago police Cmdr. Brendan Deenihan said on Sunday.
“This individual chose to use his time by killing someone,” Deenihan said.
Police believe the Sorrells brothers intended to shoot the driver of a vehicle that ferried Aldridge to the school where she was attempting to register her child. The driver, who immediately cooperated with police, was allegedly targeted because he “exchanges looks” with the suspects and was from out of town, Deenihan said. The Sorrells tried chasing the driver down and fired at him, police said, but instead hit Aldridge, who was pushing a baby carriage. […]
Deenihan said investigators were able to identify the Sorrells after viewing surveillance video from the school and speaking with a school security officer.
Derren Sorrells, 22, was paroled on August 12, 2016, just two weeks before Aldridge was murdered, after being imprisoned since 2013, according to Department of Corrections records. He has tattoos of a cross and the word “God.”
The Department of Corrections provided this sentencing history for him:
OFFENSE: AID/ABET/POSS/SELL STOLEN VEH
CUSTODY DATE: 08/28/2012
SENTENCE: 6 Years 0 Months 0 Days
COUNTY: COOK
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: NO
OFFENSE: ESCAPE/VIOLATE ELEC MONITORING
CUSTODY DATE: 08/28/2012
SENTENCE: 2 Years 0 Months 0 Days
COUNTY: COOK
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: NO
In addition to the sentencing history, Derren Sorrells had six felony arrests, said Fox News. […]
According to police, Derren Sorrells was on an ankle bracelet when Aldridge was killed, but it was “inactive,” said Fox News.
So, he was convicted for violating his electronic monitoring program but then given yet another ankle bracelet? Not all that bright, if you ask me, and nobody did, but still…
According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, Darwin Sorrells is on parole. He was paroled on Feb. 10, 2016, says the DOC. He was listed as being 26-years-old, and 5 foot 8 inches tall and 175 pounds with numerous tattoos, including one of the Chicago skyline and another of a cross that says “RIP Tywon.”
The Corrections Department says Darwin Sorrells has this criminal sentencing history:
OFFENSE: RECEIVE/POSS/SELL STOLEN VEH
CUSTODY DATE: 01/10/2013
SENTENCE: 6 Years 0 Months 0 Days
COUNTY: COOK
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: NO
OFFENSE: FELON POSS/USE FIREARM PRIOR
CUSTODY DATE: 01/10/2013
SENTENCE: 6 Years 0 Months 0 Days
COUNTY: COOK
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: NO
OFFENSE: AGG UNLWFL USE WEAPON/VEH/2ND
CUSTODY DATE: 04/01/2011
SENTENCE: 5 Years 0 Months 0 Days
COUNTY: COOK
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: YES
OFFENSE: AGG BATTERY/PUBLIC PLACE
CUSTODY DATE: 09/09/2007
SENTENCE: 0 Years 90 Months 0 Days
COUNTY: COOK
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: YES
OFFENSE: AGG BATTERY/GREAT BODILY HARM
CUSTODY DATE: 09/09/2007
SENTENCE: 0 Years 90 Months 0 Days
COUNTY: COOK
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: YES
A felony bust for possession/use of a firearm with a prior gun conviction (among other things) and he does just two years?
This is exactly the type of thing I was talking about in my latest newspaper column. If they’re in prison, they’re not killing people on the street.
* The Michael Isikoff elections board hacking story is getting a lot of traction out there. But cyber security specialist John Bambenek has read the FBI “Flash” memorandum that Isikoff wrote about (and which admonishes against release to the media and general public) and says Isikoff got it wrong…
The Isikoff article takes great liberties with both the details of the FBI Flash Bulletin and the facts of the matter to claim dangerous “foreign adversaries” are attacking boards of elections.
I have seen some of those IPs attack one of my own servers and it’s unlikely sophisiticated foreign adversaries are really that interested in data from my unsuccessful 2012 State Senate run.
The use of a foreign IP has no relationship to the nationality of the attacker. I personally have infrastructure in many countries, that doesn’t make me Chinese, Russian, Brazilian, American, German and French all at the same time.
A cursory exam of the data shows the IP addresses involved are commodity web scanners that constantly scan the entire internet for basic web vulnerabilities.
While it is important to highlight the risks of these threats and practice basic web application security, we ought not to stretch the truth and engage in fear mongering where none is warranted. We have the defenses required for these types of attacks, they need only be implemented.
Bambenek also told me, “Nation states don’t SQL inject through Tor.” I’ve added explanatory hyperlinks to help you parse what he’s saying.
[Ken Menzel, general counsel for the elections board] said there is a “reasonable suspicion” that the cyberattack was foreign.
“We know foreign servers were used, but it’s not conclusive that foreign actors were involved,” Menzel said. He said the FBI has “their reasons for suspecting foreign involvement, other than just some foreign servers were used.”
* And if you believe this, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that just happens to be for sale…
Gov. Bruce Rauner said Friday he doesn’t plan to get involved in replacing state Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican and top ally who announced his resignation earlier this month.
“I’m not going to be particularly involved,” Rauner said. “There’s a process that will unfold. And local leaders very much control that process, and I assume they’ll come up with a very good person.”
The “Chicago Tonight” panel had a good laugh over the weekend. The punchline?
Tammy Duckworth’s legislative accomplishments – or lack thereof.
Watch what happened when WTTW anchor Joel Weisman asked his panel to name a single Duckworth accomplishment from her time in Washington:
JOEL WEISMAN: Do you know of some of her accomplishments?
KATE GROSSMAN: I don’t know – I don’t know off the top of my – I know she’s been involved with veterans’ affairs in multiple ways but I don’t know – I can’t list her accomplishments.
MARY WISNIEWSKI: I think for some Democrats, it might be enough that she’s a Democrat and they can, you know – and you have another Democrat in the Senate and she’ll be junior to one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate and will take directions from him.
With an effectiveness score of zero, Duckworth’s tenure in Washington has literally turned into a joke.
And, as the Chicago Tribune’s Mary Wisniewski explained, Democrats are willing to look past Duckworth’s award-winning ineffectiveness because she would simply “take directions” from Dick Durbin.
Tammy Duckworth’s campaign for U.S. Senate is out today with a new ad, entitled “Granite City.” The 30-second spot features laid-off steelworkers discussing the uncertainty they’re facing as a result of unfair trade practices. Granite City is a Metro East community where the local steel mill began laying off more than 2,000 workers two days after Christmas. Duckworth has visited Granite City several times as a candidate for U.S. Senate, most recently this past Saturday. Earlier this year, she sat down with laid off workers and their families at the United Steel Workers union hall. While the initial announcement indicated the layoffs would be temporary, the plant remains shuttered today.
Last week, in a speech to the City Club of Chicago, Duckworth released her new economic plan to support a strong workforce and create new opportunities for Illinois families, with a special focus on strengthening Illinois’ manufacturing sector. You can find her new plan HERE.
“Tammy is running for Senate to help families like her own — families that have been knocked down but haven’t given up. She supports trade policies that put Illinois workers first, not multinational corporations. Republican Mark Kirk, on the other hand, refers to himself as an ‘ardent free trader’ and has routinely supported bad trade deals and policies that put American workers at a disadvantage, like protecting tax breaks companies use when they ship jobs overseas. Illinois deserves a Senator who will fight for their jobs and that’s Tammy Duckworth,” said Duckworth deputy campaign manager Matt McGrath.
“Granite City” has begun running statewide, in rotation with the Duckworth biographical spot, “Adversity.”
Justin: You didn’t know when you was gonna get laid off, and then, bam, two days after Christmas.
Duckworth: My dad, he was in his late 50’s. He lost his job because the company he was working for was sold, and no one would hire a 50-something-year-old man.
Anthony: The imports are really bad…China, Korea. It’s junk steel.
Duckworth: Mark Kirk describes himself as an ardent free-trader, and that is a fundamental difference between us. I am a fair-trader.
Anthony: He’s not supposed to work for China, he’s supposed to fight for our jobs.
Duckworth: I’m Tammy Duckworth, and I approved this message.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s radio network…
New numbers released by the Illinois Department of Corrections show that Illinois’ prison population dropped by 2,485 in the past year and by more than 4,200 since fiscal 2014.
The total prison population was 44,680 as of July 1, down from 47,165 in June 2015 and 48,921 in June 2014.
Gov. Bruce Rauner resolved to reduce the prison population by 25 percent over the next decade. He devised the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform to come up with recommendations to reach the goal. While the downward trend started before the commission released its recommendations and passed subsequent legislation, recommendations from the commission have been taken up by judges and law enforcement. […]
[The head of the John Howard Association, Jennifer Vollen-Katz] said that, even with the new lower number, Illinois’ prison system is still over capacity by nearly 12,000. According to the Vera Institute of Justice, taxpayers pay approximately $40,000 every year to incarcerate someone in Illinois.
* Sociologist Arlie Hochschild spent five years in Louisiana’s bayou country trying to figure out the folks who eventually turned into Donald Trump supporters. Her new book Strangers in Their Own Landis the result…
Strangers in Their Own Land goes beyond the commonplace liberal idea that many on the political right have been duped into voting against their interests. In the right-wing world she explores, Hochschild discovers powerful forces—fear of cultural eclipse, economic decline, perceived government betrayal—which override self-interest, as progressives see it, and help explain the emotional appeal of a candidate like Donald Trump. Hochschild draws on her expert knowledge of the sociology of emotion to help us understand what it feels like to live in “red” America. Along the way she finds answers to one of the crucial questions of contemporary American politics: why do the people who would seem to benefit most from “liberal” government intervention abhor the very idea?
What the people I interviewed were drawn to was not necessarily the particulars of these [far right conspiracy] theories. It was the deep story underlying them—an account of life as it feels to them. Some such account underlies all beliefs, right or left, I think. The deep story of the right goes like this:
You are patiently standing in the middle of a long line stretching toward the horizon, where the American Dream awaits. But as you wait, you see people cutting in line ahead of you. Many of these line-cutters are black—beneficiaries of affirmative action or welfare. Some are career-driven women pushing into jobs they never had before. Then you see immigrants, Mexicans, Somalis, the Syrian refugees yet to come. As you wait in this unmoving line, you’re being asked to feel sorry for them all. You have a good heart. But who is deciding who you should feel compassion for? Then you see President Barack Hussein Obama waving the line-cutters forward. He’s on their side. In fact, isn’t he a line-cutter too? How did this fatherless black guy pay for Harvard? As you wait your turn, Obama is using the money in your pocket to help the line-cutters. He and his liberal backers have removed the shame from taking. The government has become an instrument for redistributing your money to the undeserving. It’s not your government anymore; it’s theirs.
I checked this distillation with those I interviewed to see if this version of the deep story rang true. Some altered it a bit (”the line-waiters form a new line”) or emphasized a particular point (those in back are paying for the line-cutters). But all of them agreed it was their story. One man said, “I live your analogy.” Another said, “You read my mind.”
Rebound is an alternative education program under the umbrella of Carbondale Community High School and open to any student throughout the region. Rebound serves about 225 students annually who have dropped out of traditional high schools for a variety of reasons, and about 85 at-risk students who are provided additional supportive services.
“It’s very inspirational to be here and see this,” Rauner said following his tour on Friday morning. The governor said he would be talking with his staff about ways the state can provide more support to alternative high school programs.
Rauner noted that K-12 schools were the only state-funded service to receive a full budget this year, and that lawmakers approved and he signed a deal to increase the amount of money going to schools.
But Rebound and other schools like it were not included in that deal.
“I did not know — this is something I learned today — that this particular segment of our education system did not get a full year (funding) in the stopgap because I wanted to make sure all of K-12 got a full year.”
On the 45th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day, State Rep. Dwight Kay continued his long-standing attacks on women. After publicly suggesting women who use birth control are immoral, Dwight Kay’s latest attack on women suggests his opponent, educator Katie Stuart, isn’t even capable of driving a car. Kay’s piece portrays Stuart as a smiling passenger helping “navigate” while a man drives the vehicle.
“Dwight Kay continues to treat women like second-class citizens,” Stuart said. “Dwight Kay has repeatedly failed to stand up for women’s rights, putting corporate profits over equality in the workplace by voting against equal pay protections, voting against requiring insurance companies to cover birth control, and failing to support programs that protect women and their health, such as life-saving breast cancer screenings, domestic violence shelters and services for victims of sexual assault. So his latest stunt is just a continuation of his pattern of disrespect and outright scorn for women.”
Kay’s attacks on women date all the way back to his first year in office, when he voted against holding corporations accountable for failing to pay women equal pay for equal work, and reached a highpoint earlier this year when Kay made radically out of touch comments when debating a bill requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of birth control. “I seriously question how much promiscuity should an insurance company pay (for),” Kay said during debate on the bill in April.
Soon after, Kay voted multiple times against critical funding for life-saving breast cancer screenings, domestic violence shelters and victims of sexual assault. Continuing to show his lack of respect for women, Kay voted three times against a bill allowing women who are victims of domestic violence to take additional time off work to seek medical care, legal assistance and put their lives back together.
“On the 45th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day, Representative Kay continued his unrelenting attack on women,” Stuart said. “The people of the 112th district deserve better than having a misogynist representing them in Springfield.”
Kay said there was no sexist intent in the ad — only a goal of showing that Madigan’s tenure has hurt downstate and the rest of Illinois, and that Stuart would be beholden to Madigan. Kay said he wonders if Stuart would be happy if the ad depicted Stuart serving as Madigan’s driver.
“If it would make her feel better to switch drivers, we could certainly do that,” Kay said. “Would she prefer to have the places switched? And have her chauffeuring around Speaker Madigan, who certainly is supporting her? Maybe that’s something we should do; maybe that’s a good thought.” […]
Kay said Sunday he will be issuing a challenge to Stuart, asking her to sign a pledge that she won’t vote for Madigan to serve as the House speaker if she’s elected.
Kay said Stuart’s criticism of the mailer is an attempt to “gin up interest in a campaign that’s failing.”
“I care about and respect all women, men and children I serve as state representative. For my opponent to say otherwise is wrong,” Kay said.
That’s a pretty good pivot by Kay (who is advertising on the fairly expensive St. Louis radio station KMOX at last check). Your thoughts?
* Remember this Chicago police and fire pension bill that the General Assembly passed in the spring?…
Over the short term, the bill would have reduced how much taxpayers contribute to the retirement funds by hundreds of millions of dollars a year. But that delay would come at a cost of billions of dollars over the long haul. By paying less upfront, the city would see its pension debt continue to grow.
* The governor vetoed that bill and was then overridden. Gov. Rauner was not amused…
“Clearly, those who supported this measure haven’t recognized what happens when governments fail to promptly fund pension obligations,” [Gov. Bruce Rauner] said. “Instead of kicking the can down the road, local and state governments should instead focus on reforms that will grow our economy, create jobs and enable us live up to the promises we’ve made to police and firefighters.”
In vetoing the bill Friday afternoon, Rauner called the measure “irresponsible” and warned “the cost to Chicago taxpayers” in the long run is “truly staggering.”
And then we have last week. Gov. BRUCE RAUNER’s administration let it be known it didn’t want the Teachers’ Retirement System board to vote to lower the estimated rate of return it would get on its investments. Although that recommendation comes from actuaries not under anyone’s political control, the administration said the process needed more scrutiny and input before the decision was made.
It also made note that lowering investment returns would cost the state money that could not then go to education and other programs.
Fair enough, but the other point to remember is this. Overestimating investment returns would save the state money in the short term, but that doesn’t mean the bill goes away. It just shoves it off into the future. It’s sort of a variation on the old practice of simply shorting the money outright.
For Rauner, it would make budget life a little easier next year, not to mention possibly helping to hold down the size of the tax hike everyone seems to acknowledge is coming. As for making the pension systems any healthier, probably not so much.
Subscribers know more about the motivations here, but the governor clearly fell into his own rhetorical trap on this one.
…Adding… I’m not sure who thought of it first, but it really doesn’t matter. Greg Hinz made the same comparison to the Chicago pension veto.
If anyone doubted House Speaker Michael Madigan’s total control of the state of Illinois, Thursday’s state Supreme Court decision throwing the Independent Map amendment off the Nov. 8 ballot should erase that doubt.
In a party-line vote, the Democratic-controlled court ruled 4-3 against the amendment, which would have removed control of the legislative district mapping process from politicians and given it to an 11-member independent commission that would draw a fair map that wouldn’t favor the Republicans or the Democrats.
This is exactly why the Independent Maps folks should’ve more closely followed the road map they were handed two years ago by Judge Mikva. The legal and political odds were already heavily against them. Why draw outside those very narrow lines when the Supremes will undoubtedly force you to stay within them?
I still don’t get it, but the Republicans now have a great issue for November and it’s the fault of Democrats for not putting their own redistricting idea on the ballot. Have fun, boys and girls.
But the elite said no. And their kangaroo court said no. So where do we go from here?
Nowhere, that’s where. We’re stuck. We’ve been fixed by Doctor Mike.
The only thing we can do is elect different people, and the way the legislative map has been fixed by Madigan, that’s virtually impossible. The districts have been drawn to give Democrats a comfortable majority, and the Republicans who are left don’t complain much because the Democrats made sure the Republicans got nice, safe districts in which to languish for the rest of their natural lives. As long as they remain out of the way and don’t make noise, it’s just fine with Mike and his Minions.
The districts aren’t all completely safe for Democrats. As we’ve discussed before, the Republican Rauner won 15 of the 39 Senate districts currently represented by Democrats. And four years earlier, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady won almost as many.
* That’s why the governor’s current campaign spending is so important…
Of the $5.59 million the House Republican Organization has received (and begun sending to candidates) since June 30, all but $38,500 has come from the Illinois Republican Party. And of the $15.2 million the party has received since March 31, $15 million came from Rauner’s campaign committee, of which one Bruce Rauner overwhelmingly is the largest donor. In other words, the governor is the House Republicans’ bank.
And keep in mind that some of those GOP campaigns started their bigtime spending a whole lot earlier than June 30th.
The House Republican Organization, the campaign arm of the minority House GOP caucus, has dropped more than $420,000 in cable TV ads for a dozen candidates either running against Democratic targets or trying to keep office, reports show.
Top on the list is $157,590 for ads on behalf of Republican Rod Drobinski of Wauconda, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Sam Yingling of Grayslake.
Another $64,140 was spent on Republican Rep. Sheri Jesiel of Winthrop Harbor, who is being challenged by Democrat Nick Ciko of Lindenhurst.
The Republican State Senate Campaign Committee also is spending $172,875 on cable ads, including $71,430 on behalf of Republican Seth Lewis of Bartlett, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Tom Cullerton of Villa Park.
* I came up with an idea to perhaps solve this remap problem over the weekend, but I think I’ll save that for a column.
The FBI has uncovered evidence that foreign hackers penetrated two state election databases in recent weeks, prompting the bureau to warn election officials across the country to take new steps to enhance the security of their computer systems, according to federal and state law enforcement officials.
The FBI warning, contained in a “flash” alert from the FBI’s Cyber Division, a copy of which was obtained by Yahoo News, comes amid heightened concerns among U.S. intelligence officials about the possibility of cyberintrusions, potentially by Russian state-sponsored hackers, aimed at disrupting the November elections.
Those concerns prompted Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to convene a conference call with state election officials on Aug. 15, in which he offered his department’s help to make state voting systems more secure, including providing federal cyber security experts to scan for vulnerabilities, according to a “readout” of the call released by the department.
Johnson emphasized in the call that Homeland Security was not aware of “specific or credible cybersecurity threats” to the election, officials said. But three days after that call, the FBI Cyber Division issued a potentially more disturbing warning, entitled “Targeting Activity Against State Board of Election Systems.” The alert, labeled as restricted for “NEED TO KNOW recipients,” disclosed that the bureau was investigating cyberintrusions against two state election websites this summer, including one that resulted in the “exfiltration,” or theft, of voter registration data. “It was an eye opener,” one senior law enforcement official said of the bureau’s discovery of the intrusions. “We believe it’s kind of serious, and we’re investigating.”
One of those two states was Illinois.
* On Friday, the State Board of Elections posted a timeline of the hack and this brief update…
As a result of informing the Illinois Attorney General’s office of the breach, the SBE was contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We have fully cooperated with the FBI in their ongoing investigation to determine who was responsible for the attack and to prosecute the offender(s).
The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) has been very helpful by providing web traffic logs and assisting with web server log analysis.
The FBI advised that we work with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to ensure there is no ongoing malicious activity on any of SBE’s systems. We have provided DHS with the log files that we obtained from DoIT.
Hackers could conceivably use intrusions into voter registration databases to delete names from voter registration lists, although in most states, voters can request provisional ballots at the polls, allowing time for discrepancies to be resolved, an official of the National Association of Secretaries of State told Yahoo News. Still, according to Barger, the cybersecurity expert, such attacks can be used to create havoc and sow doubt over the election results.
As a result, the FBI alert urges state officials to take additional steps to secure their systems, including conducting “vulnerability scans” of their databases. In addition, the bulletin urges officials to sharply restrict access to their databases. “Implement the principle of least privilege for database accounts,” the FBI alert reads. It adds that “any given user should have access to only the bare minimum set of resources required to perform business tasks.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner said last week that he has never spoken with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel or any legislators about a much-anticipated proposal to toughen penalties for gun crimes.
“I’ve not discussed that issue with the mayor myself,” he said, adding, “Frankly, I’m talking with legislators all the time. They have not brought that issue up with me.”
Rauner was referring to legislation currently being drafted by state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, and state Rep. Mike Zalewski, D-Riverside, to increase penalties for people who are busted with guns who aren’t legally authorized to possess them because of, for instance, prior felony convictions.
Emanuel and his various police chiefs have demanded such a law for years because far too many violent criminals are getting out of prison too quickly and are then committing more crimes. But a push to pass a bill stalled out a couple of years ago after members of the Legislative Black Caucus demanded that the General Assembly first roll back some other legal punishments.
Every year, legislators jack up penalties for crimes, often because their local news outlets make a big deal about a local criminal act. And every year more people who could be living productive lives are instead trapped even longer in the criminal justice system. The pendulum had simply moved too far in one direction and African-American legislators wanted to push it back the other way. Not to mention that the original enhanced penalty bill would have cost the state millions of dollars it didn’t have.
Rauner came into office promising to reduce the state’s prison population by 25 percent, so his goal dovetailed nicely with Black Caucus demands for reduced punishments on nonviolent offenses.
But with gun violence spiking way up in Chicago, why isn’t Rauner working with legislators and the mayor to find a solution?
Raoul and Zalewski both confirmed that they hadn’t spoken with Rauner about their proposal.
“Technically he is right,” Raoul said about the governor’s statement. But, he said, “I insisted that the Chicago Police Department keep (the governor’s) public safety director apprised, and they/we have. We have not drafted the legislation yet, so there have not been multiple meetings, but his director of public safety did receive a briefing on the concept a couple of months ago.”
Other legislators said privately that there was no need to bring Rauner directly into the talks yet because no legislative language has emerged. They’re still working out the finer points with stakeholders, including the National Rifle Association, which is supportive in general but reportedly has some issues with some minor details, like, for instance, making sure medical marijuana patients are exempted from any enhanced gun penalties.
Zalewski said that, while he hadn’t yet spoken directly to Rauner, he believes passing such a law “makes sense” in the context of the governor’s advocacy for criminal justice reforms.
Rauner, Zalewski said, will need to give legislators political cover for passing the bills necessary to meet his goal of lowering the prison population by a quarter. There is a real fear for some legislators of being tagged as “soft on crime,” so upping penalties on bad guys could balance out votes for reducing penalties for others.
And still others said the governor’s claims that he talks with legislators “all the time” don’t quite provide the complete picture. “He ‘calls’ occasionally,” said one legislator. “But then he just talks. There’s no back and forth. He just talks. And then he says, ‘Look forward to talking again’ and hangs up. That’s not talking. That’s monologuing.”
Anyway, last week Rauner held a Chicago press conference with some of the most liberal Democratic members of the House and Senate to sign a large pile of criminal justice reform bills into law.
The signing ceremony was unusual because Rauner has typically approved those types of bills on a late Friday afternoon without even so much as a press release. In the past, it seemed as if he didn’t want to needlessly alienate his conservative Republican base by too publicly attaching himself to that sort of legislation. But with a general election coming up, Rauner appears to be attaching himself to issues that independents and Democrats prefer.
Hopefully soon the governor can help craft a final agreement to address the other side of this criminal justice coin. Yes, it will cost more money and it won’t help him keep his promise to reduce the prison population, but the hard reality is some people just need to be locked behind bars for longer than they are now.
